The couple was selected as the only pairs team to represent the U.S.at the Pyeongchang Games after having the highest US finish at each of their global assignments since their return to competition at the 2017 ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships last February at Gangneung Ice Arena, the venue where they will be competing at tonight.

They'll be back on the ice later on Thursday and again on Friday.

In Pyeongchang, there will be 17 Canadian skaters at his disposal: two men, three women, three pairs teams and three dance teams.

Figure skating is just one of 15 sport disciplines that athletes will compete in in the Winter Olympics. I apologize to Team USA.

One factor could be that the skating rinks and training centers are in places like the San Francisco Bay Area and Detroit where the pool of talent is more diverse, she said.

Torrey Sun, who is a biracial Chinese American, competed in the 1960s when figure skating wasn't very diverse.

"We felt we had the right combination, which we did", said Slipchuk.

While skating competitions generally occur at night, at this year's Games they're scheduled for 10 o'clock in the morning Korea time to accommodate the time zone difference with much of the U.S. That shift may take some getting used to, as the first competitors to take the ice in the men's portion of the team competition struggled to land their jumps.

How many athletes make up the 2018 Canadian Olympic team? "I wasn't able to have lessons year round, she would stand on the ice, take notes of what the coach is asking me to do". I'm glad I got the opportunity to at least come out here, get the program down and learn from it. "All her advice and just her talking about her experiences just really helped me with mine".

"I definitely let the rest of the team down", he said, "so I feel bad in that regard".

Regardless of ethnicity or background, skaters say it's also about the mentality. The talented athlete, now 18, had dreams of following in the footsteps of her hometown hero, Kristi Yamaguchi, and now, that's exactly what she's doing.

"Hard work is the key for every performer and for every performance".

Another factor is representation.

"It's just great to have so many fantastic athletes in one place especially for ice skating", said Kaitlyn Barnes of Greenfield. "Yes, they will be there to watch me skate", she exclaimed. "I wasn't thinking about how to step in to the jump, which kind of threw me off". "Seeing someone like you who's accomplishing things that you aspire to, means a lot". Who's the youngest? Who's the oldest?

This year could be historic for Asian-American males if Nathan Chen or Vincent Zhou medal in the men's singles competition.